Filled bag closing units



F 19421 c. s. THOMPSON ETI'AL 2,274,508

FILLED BAG CLOSING UNIT Filed. May 1, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES: Z tggvyrz/azzzvroles: 8

bar es m son Pizzlz'pfl. ric,

9 c. s. THOMPSON E TAL ,27

FILLED BAG CLOSING UNIT Filed May 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W N ES:

IT ESS B Charles Thompson&

A T'I'ORNEYS,

F 13 .13. Clark,

Feb. 24. 1942. c.- s. THOMPSON Em 2,274,508

FILLED BAG CLOSING UNIT Filed May 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3- INVENTORS.

Charles 5' Thomtmsanfi J3 ATTORNEKS.

WITNESS Patented Feb. 24,1942

FILLED BAG CLOSING UNITS Charles s. Thompson, Elmhurst, and Philip B. Clark, Chicago, Ill., assignors to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 1, 1939, Serial No. 271,222

10 Claims.

This invention relates to filled bag closing units. More specifically, it has reference to motordriven bag closing units of the type featured in U. S. Patent 2,156,526 granted to Norman V. Christensen on May 2, 1939.

Our invention is concerned with structural refinements and improvements in bag closing units of the kind referred to, calculated to increase their operative and productive efiiciency lto facilitate their manipulation and control and to make possible their construction more economically than heretofore.

Other objects andattendant advantages'will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is a perspective view of a unit for closing filled bags, conveniently embodying our invention.

Fig. II is a view showing the organizationin front elevation.

Fig. III is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken as indicated by the angled arrows IIIIII in Fig. II.

Fig. IV shows the unit in top plan with a portion of the driving motor broken away, to expose underlying parts which would otherwise be hidden. i a

Fig. V is a view similar to Fig. IV showing the unit with relatively movable components thereof in different positions. a

As' illustrated, our improved bag closing unit includes a fastening machine I herein exemplified as a sewing machine; a driving motor 2, and a support 3, common to said machine and motor. The sewing machine I, it will be observed, is vertically arranged with its needle head pendent, its shaft 4 vertical, and with its actuating wheel 5 uppermost. The motor- 2 is similarly arranged at an elevation above the sewing head I with its shaft 6 upright, and provided 'at the lower end of said shaft, with a friction wheel I. The support 3 is in the form of a vertical cylindric tube, and is engaged adjacent its lower end by a rearwardly projecting boss 3 on a plate-like bracket 3 to which the frame of sewing machine I is rigidly secured by means of bolts I'll. Accordingly, the sewing machine I may be adjusted not only angularly of the support 3 in a horizontal plane, but vertically as well to properly position its actuating wheel 5 relative to the friction wheel 1 of the motor 2. A set screw shown at H in Fig. II serves as a means for securing the sewing machine I in adjusted positions. The bracket 9 is, moreover, formed adjacent its opposite side edges'with horizontal axis bosses l2 and I3 whereof the first is bored to'receive one end of an arm which carries disks l5 and I6 for sustaining the sewing thread supply cops I1 and I8, and also guides l3 and for said threads. The other boss l3 of the bracket 9, is bored and tapped to receive the threaded shank 2| of a laterally projecting grasp handle 22.

The motor 2 is in turn secured by means of bolts 23 to a plate-like bracket 24, which has a.

pair of vertically spaced pivot ears 25 projecting 'rearwardly therefrom and freely engaging the cylindric support 3. The lower edge of the bracket 24 rests on aroller 26 which is revolvable about a ball-bearing 21 at the head end of a screw bolt 28 extending diametrically through the cylindric support 3 'as shown in Fig. III. Like the bracket 3, the bracket 24 is formed adjacent its opposite side edges with apertured horizontal axis bosses 23 and 30. Secured with capacity, for endwise adjustment in the boss 29 is an arm 3| which extends forwardly and has its front end turned downwardly to pivotally support a brake shoe 32 at' the level of the wheel 5 of sewing machine I. Within the other horizontal axis boss of the bracket 9 is secured a lever rod 33 which is curved to extend downwardly alongside the sewing machine and downwardly to the" grasp handle 22 and which terminates in a thumb press 34 adjacent the outer end 'of said handle. As shown in Figs. IV and V, the lever rod 33 is extended rearwardly of the boss- 30 to afford anchorage for one end of a helical tension spring 35, the other end of said spring being engaged between a pair of clamp nuts 36 on the threaded rear end of the bolt 23 which passes through the support 3 as hereinbefore described. Under the action of the spring 35, the brake shoe 32 is normally maintained in engagement with the periphery of the actuating wheel 5 of the sewing machine l as shown in Fig. V; while the friction drive wheel 'I of the motor is retracted and running free of said actuating wheel.

To operate the unit, the handle 22 is grasped in the right hand and the lever 33 pressed with the thumb of that hand, whereby the motor bracket 24 is swung' about the cylindric support 3 from the position of Fig. V to the position of Fig. IV, with attendant withdrawal of the brake shoe 32 from the wheel 5 of the sewing machine I and concurrent advance of the motor wheel 1, into peripheral driving engagement with said wheel 5. It is to be particularly noted from Figs.

IV and V of the drawings that the relation of the shaft 4 of the sewing head I and the axis of the motor 2, and that the direction ofrotation of the motor are such that somewhat of a wedging effect is produced between the drive wheel 1 and the driven wheel when the first is brought into driving contact with the latter. As a result, less effort is thus required on the part of the operator to maintain the two wheels 5 and I in driving relation, without being so pronounced, however, as to interfere with ready retraction of the wheel 'I by the spring 35. A similar relationship exists between the pivotal center of the brake shoe 32, the axis of the supporting member 3 and the shaft 4 of the sewing head I, whereby somewhat of a wedging effect is produced between said shoe and the wheel 5 of the sewing head, to the advantage that the sewing head is quickly stopped by the action of the spring 35 when the lever 33 is released.

In the exemplified embodiment of our invention, the unit is suspended by means of a cable 31 (Figs, I and II) connecting with an eye at the end of an arm 38 which reaches laterally from the top of the support 3 to a point in a vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the unit. As shown, the cable 31 passes around on overhead pulley 39, and to its other end is attached a weight 40 which counterbalanc'es the weight of the unit. With such a suspension arrangement, the unit may be moved up 'and down and also horizontally by means of the grasp handles 22 incident to seaming up the mouth M of a closed bag B in a-manner which will be readily understood from Fig. I. Electric current is supplied to the motor 2 through a conductor 4| which is secured by a clip 42 to the suspension cable 3'! and which terminates at a control switch 43 at one side of the casing of the motor 2.

As an alternative, the vertical tubular. support 3 may be stationarily mounted in any convenient way, and the bags which are to be closed, moved relative to the sewing machine.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

.1. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like, comprising a fastening machine and a motor at an elevation above said machine, each having its shaft vertically arranged; a driving wheel at the upper end of the machine shaft; a friction wheel at the lower end of the motor shaft; a vertical axis support; a bracket carrying the machine and secured to the vertical support adjacent the bottom; a grasp handle projecting forwardly from the bracket alongside the machine; a bracket carrying the motor and swingable about the vertical support for movement of the motor wheel into and out of peripheral driving engagement with the machine wheel; a brake also carried by the motor bracket; yielding means influential upon the motor bracket to normally maintain the brake member in contact with the machine wheel with the motor wheel retracted; and an actuating lever extending into proximity to the handle aforesaid for convenience of actuation by one of the fingers of the,

hand grasping said handle, whereby the motor bracket may be moved in opposition to the yielding means to concurrently effect withdrawal 'of the brake member from the machine wheel and engagement with the latter of the motor wheel.

2. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like, comprising a fastening machine and a motor at an elevation above said machine. each having its shaft vertically arranged; a driving wheel at the upper end of the machine shaft; a friction wheel at the lower end of the motor shaft; a vertical axis, support to which the motor so as to be retracted as the wheels 1 are engaged and vice versa, the disposal of the motor axis and the brake member respectively in respect to the axis of the shaft of the fastening machine and the axis of the support being such that somewhat of a wedging action is produced between the friction wheel and the machine wheel when in driving relation and between said brake member and said machine wheel when in braking relation.

3. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like comprising a fastening machine and a driving motor therefor with their shafts parallel and respectively carrying drive wheels in a common plane, a fulcrum axis paralled to and at different distances from the fastening machine and motor shaft axes and about which the machine and the motor are swingable relatively to bring the machine and motor wheels into and out of peripheral driving engagement, the motor axis being disposed to one side of the plane passing through the machine shaft axis and fulcrum axis and so spaced from the fulcrum axis that wedging action takes place when the machine and motor wheels are moved into operative relation, yielding means operative between the machine and motor to normally keep the wheels out of driving contact, and leverage means whereby said machine and motor may be moved relatively in opposition to the yielding means when the machine is to be driven.

4. A unit charcterized as in claim 3, wherein the axes of the fulcrum, the machine shaft and the motor shaft are all vertical.

5. A unit characterized as in claim 3 for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like, further including a brake shoe spaced from the fulcrum member like the motor shaft, the brake shoe and the motor shaft being disposed on opposite sides of a plane passing through the axis of the fulcrum member and the axis of the machine shaft, and normally held in wedging contact with the periphery of the machine wheel under the influence of the yielding means, and connections whereby the brake shoe is retracted from operative position concurrently with movement of the machine and motor wheels into operative relation.

6. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like comprising a fastening machine with an actuating wheel on its drive shaft, a

fulcrum member with its axis in-parallel relation to the fastening machine shaft by which the machine is fixedly sustained; a support swingable about the fulcrum member, a motor carried by the support with its shaft parallel to the fastening machine shaft and to one side of the plane passing through the axis of the machine shaft and the axis of the fulcrum member, said shaft having a wheel thereon adapted to contact peripherally with the wheel of the fastening machine, and the radial distance between the axis of the machine shaft and that of the fulcrum member being such that wedging action takes place between the motor wheel and the machine wheel when in operative relation, yielding means influencing the motor support to normally keep the motor wheel retracted from the machine wheel, and leverage means whereby the motor support may be moved in opposition 7. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like characterized as in claim 6, further comprising a brake shoe on the motor support to the side of the plane passing through the axis of the fulcrum member and the axis of the machine shaft opposite the side occupied by the motor, and spaced substantially like the motor axis from the fulcrum member so that it normally engages the machine wheel periphery with a wedging action under the influence of the yielding means.

8. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags characterized as in claim 6, in which the axes of the fulcrum member, the machine shaft, and the motor shaft are all vertical. I v

9. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like, comprising'a fastening machine and a motor with their shafts vertically arranged; a driving wheel on the machine shaft; a friction wheel on the motor shaft; a vertical axis support in the form of a cylindric bar to the lower end of which the fastening machine is adjustably secured, and to the medial portion of which the motor is connected with capacity for limited swinging movement to bring its friction wheel 3 into and out of contact with the driving wheel of the machine; and suspension means including a counterbalance suspension member, and

a laterally extending arm at the top of the cylindric bar whereof the end lies in a vertical line through the gravity center of the unit and is connected to the suspension member.

10. A unit for closing the mouths of filled bags and the like, comprising a fastening machine and a motor with their shafts vertically arranged; a driving wheel on the machine shaft; a friction wheel on themotor shaft; 8. vertical axis support in the form of a cylindric bar to the lower. end of which the fastening machine is adjustably secured, and to the medial portion of which the motor is connected with capacity for limited swinging movement to bring its friction wheel into and out of contact with the driving wheel of the machine; and suspension means including a suspension cable which passes about an overhead pulley, an arm extending laterally from the top of the cylindric bar, the end of said bar lying in a vertical line through the gravity center of the unit and being connected to one end of the cable, and a counter-balance weight secured to the other end of said cable.

CHARLES S. THOMPSON.

PHILIP B. CLARK. 

